Method of cementing oil wells



July 24, 1928.

' M. T. M KEE METHOD OF CEMENTING OIL WELLS Filed Nov. 26, 1.926

Patented July 24,1928; I 1,677,975 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MIERLEY T. MCKEE, OF ZANESVILLE, OHIO.

ME THOD OF CEMENTING OIL WELLS. v Application filed November 26, 1926. Serial No. 150,793.

This invention relates to' an improved well and easing by the process of pumping method of cementing in an operating posiin clear water, the drill pipe or tubing with tion the casing of an oil or gas producing its lower end closed as at 6is forced into the well, and has for its object the provision of caslng so as to displace and force out of the 5 a novel method whereby this operation can top of the casing a large proportion of the be performed in a more facile, expeditious water contained therein, and to make room and economical manner, from a standpoint for the reception in said casing of the plugs of time and. materials used, than the comand cementitious material used in securing monly employed method now in general use the casin in place. Following thedisplace- 10 for this purpose. ment of t e water from the casing, the tub- For at'urther understanding of the invenmg 5 is removed and there is inserted in the tion reterence is' to be had to the following top or upper portion of the casing a lower description and the accompanying drawing; I plug member 7. This plug member consists wh of two sections, a lower section 8 of cylin- 1 l5 Figures 1-to 6 inclusive disclose vertical drical form having uniform diameter sectional views setting forth the consecutive throughout the length thereof, and an upsteps employed in carrying out the present per section 9, which 18 of substantially coinvention. noidal or tapered form, the smaller portion In 'carryin out'the invention it will he of the section 9 being located at the upper understood t at the usual hole 1 is drilled endthereof. Between the sections 8 and 9 in the ground by any approved method of there lsprovided a fabric gasket 10, which drilling, such, for example, as by the em loy- 1s adapted to engage with the inner wall of ment of rotary drills. .When the ho e or the casing so as to secure a seal between the well has been drilled to the proper place or 1 plug member and the casing; ,80

' depth where it is decided, to set the casing On-this plug member there is poured into 2 and cement it in place, which may be acthe casing a suitable quantity 0 cement, as complished by dropping a weighted measurshown more particularly in Figure 3 and ing line to the bottom of the well to deterdesignated by the numeral 11, which body mine its depth, the casing1 2'is inse'rted in the of cement rests u on the lower plug member well and maintained s ightly spaced, as and is supporte thereby. Resting on the shown in"- Figure 1, from the bottom there-g top of the ody ofcement is an upper plug of. Ordinarily, the bottom of the well conmember 12 of cylindrical form and of subtains a certain quantity of-thickheavy mud stantially uniform diameter throughout the and it is preferable to remove this by pumplength thereof, the top of this plug member ing water downwardly through the casing 2 being provided with a gasket 13 whichen so as to thin the mud and force the sameupgagesthe inner wall of the casing and pro,- wardly and out of the wellbetween the walls] ,vides a seal between said upper plug mems of the casing and the we1l,-as indicated at 3 her and said casing. I in Figure 1. By this step the mud in the Following the operation of inserting the lower art of the well is removed so that cement and the plug members in the manner p when t emeasuring line is lowered the same and order described the casing is elevated I; will engage firm materialat the bottom of slightly from the bottom of.the well and the the well and the exact depth of-the latter pumps are started so as .to force the plug u 1' ma then be; determined-with accuracy. It members and the cement downwardly; per- 45;? wil be understood that the measuring line mitting of the displacement of the water bea may be dropped to the bottom of the well low the lower plug member until the. latter 1 7 through the piping ofthe rotary' drill, if engages with the bottom. of the well, as desired. shown in Figure 4. The casing is then ele- After the depthf-of' the wellhas been" :vated slightly, as indicated in Figure 5 to 50 determined and the excesslmud removed permitof the flow of the thoroughly wet therefrom through the above described cement from the lower end of the casing into pumping operation, the casing 2 is inserted the bottom of the well and upwardly bein the well as shown in Figure 2, with the tween the casing and the walls of the well,

a lower end of the casing restin upon the hotallowing the cement to arise to the desiredv no :56 tom 410i the well. After t e mud laden height in the space 3. The-casing-is then water has been thoroughly flushed out of the lowered, as shown in Figure ,6, until the same again rests on the bottom of the well and wherein the cementing operation has been completed. The plug members may then be removed from the casing in any suitable manner such as by means of fishing tools or by drilling theplugs out with drilla ing tools, and the concrete is permitted to force and strengthen the same.

set and harden soas to retain the casing in its. operating position and to greatly rein- In view of the foregoing 1t willbe seen that the present invention provides a positive, simple yet effective method for cementing an oil or gas well casing in its applied and operative position in the bottom of .the well, and a method by meansof which the work may be carried on accurately and economically avoiding both waste of mate-' rials and time in completing the several steps of the operation. The method may-be carried out by the employment merely of standard drillers tools and does not involve special apparatus or additional investment cost of any kind.

It will be observed that the operation of the apparatus is particularly positive. Thus when the lower plu member reaches the bottom of the well t e pumps forcing the same downwardly are automatically stopped a by the back pressures thereby set up, so that the operator will beinformed when to elevate the casing to release the concrete into consists in 'pumpin the desired sealing spaces. Then, after the casing has been raised and the operation of the. pumps again commenced, the operator will be notified when the cement has been fully forcedout of the casing by the con-= tacting of the upper plug member with the lower plug member, which again causes the pumps to automatically cease operation. In

. this manner the o erator can maintain strict supervision over t e apparatus and the control thereof rendered sufliciently positive to insure effective. results. i

What is claimed is:" v

1. The method of cementing wells, which a drilled well to remove heavy mu'd la en water from the well casing; and the space outside thereof, in lowering thecasing so that the same. will a rest 'onthe' bottom of the well displacing a materials; downwardly in sai bottom of-{t'he' well with the lower plug mem ber in con-tact with said bottom, elevating portion of the water from sai caslng, .placing a body of. cementitious material in said casing between a pair of upper and lower members raisin from the bottomfof ,t e welln,l forcing these the casin to allow continued pressure a plied to-t e upper plug member to force t e cementitiousmaterial out of the bottom of the casing and into the lower'part .of the Welland upwardly between the walls of the the casing slightly casing to the well and theca'sing, and in againlowering the casing so that the same rests upon the bottom of the well.

2. In apparatus for cementing oil wells, a casing, a air of plug members slidably mounted with member.

drical body of substantially uniformdiami eter having the upper end thereof tenninated in a tapering parted construction of materiw ally less diameter than saidrcasing, and an upper plug memberislidably received within said casing and possessing a body of substantially uniform diameter throughout the length thereof. v

4. In apparatus for cementin a casing, a plug member slidab y received within said casing and including a' body portion of slightly-less diameter than the internal diameter of said casing, a' flexible gasket oarried'by the body. portion .of said plug memberand arranged to engage with oil wells,

the walls of said casing, anda tip section of conodial form carried in connection with the upper end of said plug member and possessing a diameter of materially less :than' that of said casing.

55. In apparatus casing; a plug member slidably; received for cementing wells, 1

within said casing and formed to include a body portion of adiameter substantially with that of said casing and having the ,up-

per' end thereof: rovided with affportion; forminga guide or the lower end of said:

casing, said guide portion being of less diameter'zthan the.lower end of said casing, and

an upper 1, plug member slidably Y freceived 1 within said casing and "having; adiameter substantially with that {o f=.t he interior otsaid casing.

6. In apparatus for oil well s," v a casin spacedfrom the-bottom of the well,

a plu' slidab y received within said. casing, means. 'forforcing a body; of cementabove said plug down .the casin ,until the said plug aving' a tapered upper end portion rests on the'bottom' o the well, the tapered i portion of the plug remains at all times within the casing andservesto permit the cement to be forced downwardly-around-said tapered portion and out around the outside.

of said casing, said tapered portion :also

serves to guide the casing in. positioning the 1 same on the bottqm=of the" well ,after the cementing operation.

' In testimony whereof Iaiiiir si I stare MIERLEY 

